Do not compare siblings in ways that make one child’s strength the other child’s assignment.

Praise rarely lands on only one child. Said in front of a sibling, it quietly hands out roles: this one is the reader, that one had better become one. The second child then has to compete on ground they did not choose or accept being the lesser version, which makes the two of them slightly less able to like each other.

Praise specifically and on its own terms, without a name or a comparison attached. Notice what each child is drawn to, even when it is harder to admire out loud. If a comparison slips out, say something true about the other child later, on a subject of their own.